Grit
Explores the role of perseverance and passion in achieving success, reinforcing the idea that effort and resilience matter more than talent.
What if the biggest barrier to success isn’t your talent, background, or intelligence—but your mindset? In Mindset, psychologist Carol S. Dweck uncovers a simple but transformative idea: people operate from one of two core belief systems about their abilities—the fixed mindset or the growth mindset. Those with a fixed mindset believe their qualities are carved in stone. They avoid challenges, give up easily, and see effort as fruitless. In contrast, those with a growth mindset believe abilities can be developed through hard work and learning. They embrace challenges, persist through setbacks, and thrive on effort.
Through decades of research and compelling stories across business, sports, parenting, and education, Dweck reveals how the growth mindset leads to greater achievement and fulfillment. More importantly, she explains how anyone can cultivate it. This book is not about positive thinking or self-esteem—it’s about how we understand intelligence, talent, and our potential for growth. If you want to improve your performance, lead others more effectively, or raise confident, resilient children, understanding mindset is essential.
“Becoming is better than being.” – Carol S. Dweck
At the heart of Dweck’s work is the distinction between two mindsets: fixed and growth.
The Fixed Mindset: People with a fixed mindset believe their qualities—such as intelligence or talent—are static. Success is a validation of inherent ability, and failure is a personal indictment. These individuals are preoccupied with proving themselves and avoiding looking “dumb.” They steer clear of challenges, hide their mistakes, and often plateau early.
The Growth Mindset: In contrast, those with a growth mindset see their abilities as malleable. Talent is just a starting point. They view challenges as opportunities, value effort, and persist in the face of setbacks. For them, failure is information, not a verdict.
This difference is more than academic—it fundamentally shapes behavior and outcomes:
“In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail, you’re a failure. If you’re not the best, you’re nothing.”
Why does this matter? Because your mindset silently dictates how you interpret everyday events. A single criticism can derail someone with a fixed mindset, while someone with a growth mindset uses it to get better. Over time, these small differences accumulate into dramatically different trajectories—in school, in sports, in relationships, and at work.
The good news? Mindsets are learned. You can shift from fixed to growth with awareness and practice
Dweck illustrates how mindset affects nearly every life domain: education, sports, business, relationships, and parenting.
Students with a growth mindset tend to seek out challenges, study more effectively, and rebound from poor grades. Teachers’ beliefs also matter—when educators view intelligence as expandable, students perform better.
A striking example comes from Dweck’s research in underperforming schools. When students were taught about neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to grow—they adopted a growth mindset and significantly improved their grades. Simply believing that they could get smarter changed their academic path.
Talent gets you in the game, but mindset determines your longevity. Dweck contrasts athletes like John McEnroe (fixed mindset) with Michael Jordan (growth mindset). While McEnroe blamed others and never improved his weaknesses, Jordan was famously relentless in practice—cut from his high school team, he turned failure into fuel.
“It’s not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest.”
Mindset affects how leaders build teams and handle failure. Fixed-mindset managers surround themselves with yes-men to protect their egos. Growth-minded leaders, like Jack Welch at GE, encourage feedback, learning from mistakes, and continuous development.
Dweck also reveals how entire companies develop a culture of one mindset or the other. Organizations like Enron, which celebrated raw talent over growth, fostered toxic environments. Meanwhile, growth-oriented cultures prioritize mentorship, accountability, and improvement.
Mindset even shapes how we love. Fixed-mindset individuals believe relationships should be effortless; any difficulty signals incompatibility. Growth-minded partners see conflict as part of the journey and believe relationships grow stronger through effort.
Parents who praise children for being “smart” reinforce a fixed mindset. Those who praise effort and strategies nurture growth. The way we respond to children’s success or failure can set the tone for how they view their own abilities for life.
Mindset isn’t just a personal belief—it’s contagious. Whether you’re a leader, teacher, or parent, your mindset influences those around you.
Perhaps the most empowering part of Mindset is the message that change is possible.
We all harbor fixed mindset triggers—areas where we feel insecure or judged. Maybe it’s writing, public speaking, or conflict. The goal isn’t to eliminate the fixed mindset, but to recognize and reframe it.
Dweck introduces the concept of the “mindset voice”—that inner commentary that reacts to challenges. The fixed mindset voice says: “This is too hard. I’m not good at this.” The growth mindset voice counters: “This is tough, but I can learn.”
“The view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life.”
Four Steps to Changing Your Mindset:
Shifting mindset is a process, not a switch. It involves replacing ingrained beliefs with more empowering ones and deliberately choosing challenge over comfort. Over time, these choices rewire your habits—and your potential.
One of the most actionable lessons from Mindset is how to give feedback. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or leader, the way you praise others has a profound effect on their mindset.
When you praise intelligence (“You’re so smart”), you reinforce the idea that success comes from innate traits. People start to avoid risk to protect their identity. But when you praise effort, strategy, or progress (“You worked really hard on this”), you reinforce a growth mindset.
“The wrong kind of praise creates self-defeating behavior. The right kind motivates students to learn.”
How to cultivate a growth-mindset culture with praise:
This applies in classrooms, workplaces, and homes. The goal isn’t to boost self-esteem—it’s to build resilience. People thrive when they feel their efforts matter.
In a fixed mindset, failure is devastating—it means you’re not good enough. In a growth mindset, failure is just data. It’s a stepping stone to mastery.
Dweck urges us to “replace the tyranny of now with the power of yet.” Instead of saying “I can’t do this,” say “I can’t do this yet.”
This simple reframe:
Practical strategies to reframe failure:
“Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better?”
Reframing failure isn’t just about positive thinking—it’s about adopting a mindset that leads to better outcomes.
Mindset is contagious. Leaders, managers, teachers, and parents all influence how others view their abilities.
To help others grow, you must first model a growth mindset yourself—especially in how you handle your own setbacks and challenges.
How to lead with a growth mindset:
In business, this means building a culture of continuous improvement over blame. In education, it means supporting students’ development, not just rewarding the top performers. In families, it means helping children see challenges as growth opportunities, not threats.
A true growth-mindset culture requires patience, vulnerability, and consistency. But the payoff is profound: people become more courageous, resilient, and successful over time.
“This is something I know for a fact: You have to work hardest for the things you love most.”
“Just because some people can do something with little or no training, it doesn’t mean that others can’t do it—and sometimes do it even better—with training.”
“Effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment.”